Like Never Before
by coloretheworld
Summary: When you're 19, the world is so new. For Kate, being on the run made it scarier than ever... Until she met Sawyer. But will a tragic event tear them apart?
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Like Nothing Before...  
Rating: T (PG-13)  
Pairing: Kate and Sawyer  
Setting: AU  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Lost.**

**Well, this is my first fanfic... It's probably completely unoriginal and cheesy, but posting is worth a shot, right? Also, just a warning: everyone is extremely OOC, because my writing skills are fantastic -eye roll-. Anyway, any and all reviews would be much appreciated, and seeing as I am entirely new at this, be as harsh as you see fit.**

Chapter 1

Her head throbbed as lightning cracked overhead and she entered a nearby bar. Waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, she paused in the doorframe. She could feel someone staring at her as she sat down on a torn barstool with the cushioning falling out of the frays. 'People always stare', she thought. But who wouldn't? Kate was just nineteen years old, with startling green eyes and a cascade of soaking wet auburn curls hanging down her back. She looked up at the man standing in front of her and he smiled. Pulling out a fake I.D., Kate ordered a beer and rested her chin in her hand as she shut her eyes.

* * *

The rain pored down in a steady torrent, each drop of the cold liquid stinging her skin as she hurried along the empty street. She had left in a hurry, and not paid for the four drinks she ordered, saying that the man next to her had offered to pick up the tab. The bartender looked at her skeptically, knowing that when people said things like that they normally weren't true. Only this girl was different. She hadn't made eye contact with him the whole night, and he knew that her I.D. was bogus. Although for some reason, he hadn't called her on it. In small towns like this, no cops really cared about underage drinking, and the only people who came in by themselves this late at night probably needed a drink, so he let her get away with it.

Kate picked up her pace, almost jogging now, trying to get back to her shabby motel and escape the downpour. She was so tired of running that going back home hadn't seemed like such a bad idea when she had decided to do it, but now, one town away from her old life, she couldn't bring herself to go see any of the people she had left behind.

Kate shook her head and tried to block the thoughts from her mind. Coming back hand been a mistake. She scanned the street, looking for anything familiar enough to gauge her location by. Kate had only left the bar only ten minutes before, and the effects of the alcohol were taking their toll on her memory. She turned left onto a small, one-way street, hoping to find her way back.

She had made it about halfway down the road when a dog trotted out of someone's yard and barked violently at her. She kept walking, not caring if it chased her. She made her way further down the street and glanced back to look at the canine. It had gone away just as quickly as it had appeared, and as Kate turned her eyes back to the road, a pair of headlights penetrated her vision. The bright beam caused Kate to turn her head away, and her body jumped off the road in attempt to miss the vehicle. The battered pickup whipped around the turn and hurled itself toward her small body, knocking her onto her back.

* * *

Blinking, Kate tried to open her eyes, but the light was too bright for her to take in and she shut them again immediately. Then she heard a voice.

"Marie? Are you awake?"

Marie? Whoever it was must have gone through her wallet and found the false I.D. The voice moved closer, and Kate could tell whoever was talking was directly overhead.

She turned her head slightly and tried opening her eyes again. A man was leaning down talking to her, and Kate instinctively stiffened and scooted away from him. As she tried to maneuver herself over, she pushed off the bed only to have a severe pain rip through her left arm.

Falling back, defeated, Kate glanced down at her arm.

"It's broken, but luckily that's the only injury you had. Other than a few scrapes and bruises, that is." He smiled down at her, " Do you feel dizzy or lightheaded?"

"No", she answered.

"Okay, well, the man that ran into you said he wanted to see you. He said that he knew you." The doctor held up a picture, "Do you recognize this guy?"

Kate stared at the Polaroid of a man who looked to be in his late twenties with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. The photo sparked her memory, but she couldn't figure out where she knew the man from. She sighed, and realized that it had been somebody sitting across from her at the bar. He had given her suggestive glances the entire night, and she really didn't want to talk to the guy. However, she figured he must have wanted something pretty badly if he was desperate enough to run into her.

Kate nodded her head and the doctor took that as a sign of consent.

" Okay, I'll let him in. And I'm Dr. Seancy, call me if you need anything."

* * *

Kate glanced around the room as she waited for him to enter. Everything was so confining and strict that it made her nervous, and she felt an all to familiar feeling: she needed to run. Just as she was about to crawl out of the tiny bed, the door opened to reveal the scratched, bruised man that she had seen in the Polaroid. She just stared at him, and he did the same.

Kate didn't wait for an apology before speaking, because it looked like she wasn't going to get one.

"What do you want?"

The man looked taken aback, and paused for a moment before putting on an upset face and clinching his heart unconvincingly.

"Well freckles, I gotta tell ya, I didn't think you'd be so feisty."

Kate just glared at him until he spoke again.

"Okay, well, I felt bad about hittin' you, and it looks like you don't have a place to stay at the moment, so I'm offering up my humble abode."

She observed him, and knew he couldn't have lived in the area, and if he did, it hadn't been for long. But she did need a place to stay, so furrowing her brow, Kate considered his offer.

"You live around here?"

He looked sheepish for a moment, then twisted his words around to make it sound as much like a yes as he could.

Kate was considering her situation, weighing her options. She could stay with some guy, who she assumed was a pervert, in his hotel room, or she could spend the night on the street in the pouring rain. Neither option seemed appealing, but she decided to risk sleeping with a random guy. Heck, she had done it before, at least this one was cute.

"Sawyer", the man said, holding out his hand. 

"Marie", she stated, just staring at his hand, not fully trusting him.

"Marie? Doesn't really suit you, sweet pea." Sawyer retracted his hand, and cocked his eyebrows. He saw right through her charade.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews, guys… I wasn't sure if anyone would read this. Sorry it took so long to update, the site wouldn't let me upload the chapter for some reason.**

**Oh, and if you didn't catch it, I updated the end of the first chapter (three whole lines! Lol). So…. Yeah… enjoy!**

Chapter Two

Three days had passed since the night Kate had been hit. She hadn't seen or heard from the man she was supposed to leave with since he offered her a place to stay, and she regretted not asking for a way to contact him.

Curling her legs up to her chest, Kate sat in the hospital bed and waited. She didn't like the hospital, she didn't know when there would be a police officer in the hallway, or if someone had found out who she was, and was using her fixed location to be able to easily arrest her. Anytime someone walked into the room, she always tensed up, and a feeling of dread settled in her stomach.

Dr. Seancy had checked her over the day before, and given her permission to leave the hospital at noon the next day, as long as she stayed in the area until her cast was removed. Kate inwardly groaned at this news, she wanted to get out of Iowa as fast as she could.

* * *

It had taken an hour for Sawyer to finally arrive, but he strode in as if he hadn't forgotten that he was supposed to pick Kate up at twelve. She glared at him furiously, and slammed her few belongings in her duffel bag. Just as she was rethinking her decision to stay with him, he interrupted her thoughts.

"What's got your panties in a knot?" He asked, obviously confused by her actions.

"You were supposed to be here at noon. It's almost one-thirty." She said, not looking up from her packing.

"Well, freckles, I wasn't plannin' on gettin' here 'till one anyway. Every woman I know takes forever to get ready, and quite frankly, I don't feel like sittin' 'round here while you put your face on."

Kate was frustrated with him, put saw his point. Before she had left home, her high school had stopped having dances on school days, because, for some reason, half the girls enrolled wouldn't attend class because they spent the whole day trying to fix themselves up for the dance. She never saw the point, but for some reason it took most females an eternity to get ready, and guessing about Sawyer's past, she'd say he only dated the kind that had the time to do nothing but look pretty: rich, unintelligent women who were just interested in screwing a random guy for something to occupy there time.

Kate sighed and walked out of the room. Taking the hint, Sawyer turned to follow her.

* * *

During the ten minute ride to the hotel, neither Sawyer nor Kate said a word. There would be awkward glances every few minutes, but for the most part, the pair kept their eyes on the road.

When they finally arrived at the shabby roadside motel, Kate an Sawyer both climbed out of the truck Sawyer had rented. In fact, he made sure to mention to Kate not to expect a fancy place to stay in, because this wasn't really his car: his had been smashed in the wreck. Kate just nodded and climbed into the truck. Seeing that she wasn't a very talkative person, Sawyer just followed her lead and shut his mouth for the rest of the trip.

Sawyer started walking toward his room, not looking back at Kate to see if she was following yet. She wasn't. Kate rolled her eyes and swore under her breath about Sawyer being an 'inconsiderate son-of-a-bitch' as she grabbed her bag. Jogging to catch up to Sawyer, Kate was quickly by his side as he slid the key into the doorknob and let the two of them into the untidy room.

Kate glanced around and noticed the room was decorated with old, brown wallpaper that was peeling off where the walls met the ceiling. A lumpy mattress with only a blanket to cover its filthy exterior lay in the center of the room, and an air conditioner was in the front window. On the ceiling, there were phone numbers, obscene remarks, and unsightly spots that Kate tried no to focus on. A toilet and shower were in a tiny bathroom, along with a dirty sink, and two lights were used to keep entire the room lit.

Kate glanced at the bed and then at Sawyer. He just raised his eyebrows and said, "Home, sweet home!" unfolding his arms from his body in a way that suggested the room wasn't as bad as it seemed.

But Kate had been in worse situations… she just wanted to know if she could go to sleep. Sure, the mattress was probably so unclean that a dog wouldn't want to sleep on it, but at least Kate wouldn't be confined to the small, walled hospital bed.

She glanced at the clock. It was almost two, and if she took a nap now, she would still have time to go out later and get something to eat.

"I'm going to bed. If you leave, try to be quiet, okay?" Kate patiently talked to Sawyer as if he was a hyperactive three-year-old.

Sawyer just nodded rolled his eyes and grabbed a beer out from a six pack he had stored under the sink in the bathroom.

* * *

Kate woke to the poignant aroma of pizza. Startled, she jolted up in bed, and looked around. Sawyer was sitting in a plastic chair eating pepperoni pizza out of the box and reading a book.

She got up and walked over to him. Waiting for him to look up from his book, Kate just stood in front of him with her hands in her pockets.

"You want somethin' freckles?" He asked, without looking up

"Are you going to eat all of that?"

He glanced up at her and raised his eyebrows. Handing her a piece, Sawyer started studying his book again.

Kate stared at her pizza with utter distain, and started picking the pepperonis off and placing them back on the leftover slices in the box.

"What the hell do you think you're doin'?" Sawyer inquired while looking up from his book.

"I'm a vegetarian."

"Why?"

"I don't know… I just never really liked meat."

"Bullshit. Everybody likes meat."

"Not everybody."

"Well, I didn't know I was bringing home a high maintenance gal." Sawyer rolled his eyes and turned back to his book.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, sorry this one took awhile, I've been away at a cheerleading event for a bit. I hope you like this chapter, it's my favourite so far.

Chapter Three

Kate and Sawyer sat in an awkward silence as they finished their pizza, with the only communication being a stare from Sawyer every time Kate grabbed another piece of pizza. He didn't stare because she was eating so much of it, but because he found it oddly intriguing that she picked all the pepperoni off of pizza. Here he was, paying for her medical bills, supplying a home and food, and she had the nerve to turn it down, to edit it to fit her standards. As she was finishing, Kate announced she was going back to bed.

"Like Hell you are!" Sawyer immediately exclaimed, still upset from his earlier thoughts.

"Excuse me?" Kate gave him a baffled look as she turned from opening the bathroom door.

"You had that thing all day, and I sure ain't sleepin' on the floor tonight." Sawyer declared.

Kate stared at him with disbelief, she was in a cast for god's sake, he had run into her! If he wasn't going to let her live comfortably with him, why did he invite her to stay, anyway? Nevertheless she had nowhere else to go, so she just told him that after she was done, she would go to the front desk and ask for a cot. Sawyer spun back around and smirked, pleased with himself.

* * *

Walking through the dimly lit parking lot toward the lobby, Kate thought about Sawyer. She had only known him for a day, but already she didn't like him. She hated the way he talked, and his inconsiderateness drove her crazy, but she couldn't tear herself away from the gleam in his eyes; and he couldn't be all bad if he had offered her a place to stay, she reasoned.

She heaved open the front door to the lobby, and didn't see anyone. She rang the little metal bell at the front desk, and waited for a few minutes before a greasy, balding man walked out of a door to her left. She looked at him, and he stopped. A look of confusion crossed his face, as if he knew her, but couldn't figure out where they ha met. Kate quickly smiled nervously, and asked for a cot.

The motel owner didn't move an inch. His look of confusion slowly passed to recognition, then to one of fear. Kathryn Austen was standing right in front of him, in his motel, probably with a gun. He quickly ducked back into the room he had previously emerged from to avoid a confrontation, and Kate could hear him rattling things around.

Eventually, he came out and shakily handed her a metal cot and a blanket. She thanked him quietly, and walked away confused. As she walked back to the room, it suddenly dawned on her: he knew who she was.

Rushing back to the room, Kate slammed the door behind her and yelled for Sawyer.

"We have to leave _now_", she said, panicking.

"What?" he asked, sitting up groggily. He had already made himself comfortable in the bed, and didn't appreciate the noise Kate was making.

Thinking quickly, Kate responded, "My dad was in there, in the lobby. He", she paused, and glanced away from his eyes. She gulped, then continued. "He's a drunk, and he saw me, and I really didn't want him to see me, and we just have to leave, okay?"

"He can't get in the room, just go to bed", he said as he rolled back over.

"Sawyer!"

He didn't reply.

"Fine. Give me the keys." She demanded.

"Hell no!"

"Sawyer, please!"

"Just go to sleep!" He shouted angrily.

"Sawyer!"

Sawyer just stared at her before hoisting himself out of the bed and pulling his jeans and shirt on. Kate was so relieved she almost smiled, and dropped the cot she had been clutching.

"Don't think you're all special or anything. The people next to us have been screwing every night since I got here, I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway."

Kate nodded, with a sigh of gratefulness, and grabbed her coat.

* * *

The two climbed into the car and Kate opened a map. Sawyer just looked at her as if she was crazy, and tried to convince her that it wasn't necessary. They argued that she didn't need it, but she insisted on knowing where they were going. Finally, Kate picked a city and started giving Sawyer directions.

About five minutes into they're journey Sawyer turned to Kate, and stared. She couldn't be a day over twenty, he decided. The moonlight illuminated her features, and he noticed for the first time how thin she was. Her cheek bones jutted out from her face, and she looked tired. Huge circles encompassed her eyes, and her bony fingers held onto the map like it was an old, priceless photograph. She turned, to see if anyone was following them, and caught Sawyer's eye. He sighed, "You know you still haven't told me your real name."

Kate glanced over at him. He was watching her expectantly, and she looked out the window, "Just turn here."

"Nice name." He said sarcastically as he raised his eyebrows.

Kate turned again to check the road, and Sawyer noticed her nervous behavior. He had met plenty of women, some of which who had drunk, abusive fathers, just like Kate was claiming, and he knew that the last thing they wanted to see when they were in a car was that crazy man driving behind them.

Criminals, however, needed to check. If a cop was following, it would be best to run, but if no one knew anything yet, the excess speed would only draw attention.

Noting this, Sawyer glanced at Kate again before asking, "So why were we really running?"

Not expecting an answer, Sawyer just raised his eyebrows and turned back to the road.

* * *

An hour passed before the two said anything other than when Kate told him rare directions. The cool chill of the night air combined with the cold sweat Kate had developed made Sawyer feel awful. He didn't want to remind her of what they were doing, but his question had obviously had that effect.

Breaking the uncomfortable silence that always seemed to work itself into their conversations, Sawyer let Kate know a little bit about himself.

"So you're about twenty, right?", Sawyer said, concentrating a bit too much on the road to avoid her gaze. Not getting a response, he continued, "I'm older than that, I can tell you that much. Enjoy it while it lasts, kid."

Kate glanced once more behind her, and still seeing nothing out of the ordinary, started to relax. She looked back at Sawyer before replying, "I'm almost nineteen."


End file.
